World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseLucian King Truscott, Jr. was born in Chatfield, Texas, United States to an English father and an Irish mother. He joined the United States Army in 1917 and served as a calvary officer during WW1. When the United States entered into WW2, he was at the rank of colonel. On 19 Jun 1942, he was promoted to the war time rank of brigadier general and given command of the US Army 1st Ranger Battalion. Several months later, he was promoted to the rank of major general. On 8 Nov, he led 9,000 men of the 60th Infantry Regiment and 66th Armored Regiment in the landings at Mehdia and Port Lyautey in Morocco as part of Operation Torch. In Apr 1943, he became the commanding officer of the US 3rd Infantry Division, and in Jul led that unit during the fighting in Sicily, Italy; his tough demands on his troops produced what was popularly considered the toughest unit of the 7th Army. During the campaign in Sicily, he began wear a white scarf, which quickly became a part of his usual attire. On 11 Jul 1943, he received the Distinguished Service Cross for valor in action in Sicily. In mid-Sep 1943, nine days after the initial Allied landings in Italy, he and the 3rd Infantry Division came ashore at Salerno, Italy and entered fighting immediately. In Jan 1944, he led the division in the fighting at Anzio, Italy. At Anzio, Lieutenant General John Lucas was considered incapable of making key decision, and Truscott was put in his place as the commanding officer of the VI Corps. On 15 Aug 1944, the VI Corps landed in southern France as part of Operation Dragoon. On 2 Sep, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant general. In Dec, he was given command of the 5th Army in Italy, succeeding Lieutenant General Mark Clark who had been tapped to lead the 15th Army Group. He led the 5th Army through the end of the European War. After the war, between 8 Oct 1945 and Apr 1946, he was the commanding officer of the US 3rd Army, which saw him as a leader of American occupation forces in Germany. He retired from service in 1947. On 19 Jul 1954, he was promoted to the rank of general by special act of the United States Congress. He passed away in Alexandria, Virginia, United States in 1965.

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Lucian Truscott Timeline

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1.  Alan Chanter says:
7 Apr 2016 03:31:58 AM

General Lucien Truscott, the American commander at Anzio, recalled a time when Alexander visited the beachhead and asked to be taken to the front. Truscott gave him one of his divisional commanders, Brigadier-General O'Daniel as his guide, but privately ordered O'Daniel not to take the Commander-in Chief anywhere dangerous. Some time later a plaintive message reached Truscott from a forward unit: ' If General O'Daniel and the guy with the red hat have to prove how brave they are, could they please do it some place else?' Their arrival had attracted the attention of enemy gunners who had thoroughly shelled the area immediately afterwards.